My Infinity Universe

Infinity Bible Part III-Magic

Magic is temporal energy unfulfilled. While the web of worlds exists because of the chain of possibility, there are those events that build energy but do not create another universe. The threshold of probability is not reached. This energy is scattered across the globe, visible to anyone with the talent for it. The innate gift of magic, humanity’s birthright, had been stolen from us by the Cen. The arcane virus, legacy of Loki’s Sin, returned that old gift to mankind. And now magic was visible again. Threads could be woven into seals and sigils.

Each strange, each loop of a sigil, represents an intention. This fragment of energy will do… this. (Imitate a kind of energy or element, like fire, electricity, cold, etc…) It may also grab something up to a mile away, or transport the mage across those distances with a single step.

One end of a strand can be tied off, the other opened, thus creating a dimension pocket. Any mage may have a dimension pocket sewn into any piece of clothing, or inside of a standard belt purse common on low tech worlds. Some carry weapons in dimensional scabbards.

Magic is complicated to explain, but let’s give it a go.

You have different kinds of magic. Offensive, defensive, affective, reflective, and creative. What determines the type of spell is the mage’s intent. Knowledge informs intent. You have to know what you want the magic to do.

Offensive is pretty self-explanatory. Every strand of many put into damaging an opponent does so much physical damage. In game terms we used a specific amount, of course, but let’s say one strand isn’t usually lethal unless it’s somehow boosted. (Lightning into water comes to mind).

Defensive can absorb as much damage as a single offensive thread can do. They cancel each other.

Affective magic induces change. One thread is equivalent to fifty lbs of mass. To change a large human man to something else of the same weight would take roughly four threads. It is presumed that some of the effects of lycanthropic and other shapeshifting draws upon magic, though it’s never actually been proven. If it does, it’s entirely outside the purview of the shifter. It is for were-creatures, anyway. We’re not making any bets about dragons.

Conservation of mass generally applies, but it is possible for a creative mage to get around this problem. Creativity and knowledge, remember?

Reflective magic is designed specifically to counter offensive and affective magics. It doesn’t simply reflect. It combines and increases the power of the attacking spell and hurls it back at the assailant.

Creative magic is the most difficult, and the most misunderstood. Creative magics are those the at which the legendary Jasmine Tashae excels. She created the imp Quickfingers, after all. He is, if anything, a construct of magic somehow given life. No one else has ever succeeded in this venture, though it’s not impossible that someone else might eventually do so.